This article will be a bit different than my others. Rather than being a rant, this will be a collection of thoughts, experiences, and ideas about what an average family can do to prepare for a disaster without requiring tons of time and money or disrupting their normal lives.
Naturally, the "dedicated Survivalist" family/group will likely have an advantage over the family/group that is "budget prepared" like I'm proposing, should disaster strike. However, if the residents of New Orleans had applied even some of what I propose, many would have better managed Katrina. Remember too - no matter what I present here, you WILL be able to improve on it. That is deliberate; I want you to think for yourselves about what is best for you. I'm just offering the most generic options for the least possible effort/expense. Just don't get so caught up in "improving" my suggestions that you don't get around to actually doing anything! You'd be better off with "marginal" in your posession, rather than a shopping list of "the best." Get the minimum now, and replace/improve as you can. That is my hope, anyway. But, even if you never get around to upgrading, you will still have something.
I'm not going to make out Survival Lists; there are plenty of those around. I'm just going to suggest cheap ways to acquire/store the stuff that you decide to put on your list. There is one exception: Water. There is no substitute for water. Even if you build a high-output solar still, dig a well, have a pristine mountain stream, you will still need a supply of water until your permanent source is actually available. I recommend a case of bottled water for each person, and an extra case thrown in for each 2-3 people. Just my own rule-of-thumb; but at ~$5/case, it can't hurt much.
Storage Ideas
Public, neighborhood, or even private swimming pools often use chorine tablets. These tablets usually come in sealed buckets with screw-on, safety-lock lids to keep the chlorine in and kids out. Sometimes these are 5-gallon size buckets, but they also come in a larger (8 or 9 gallon?) size. They are almost always discarded, as the chemical companies won't take them back. These larger ones are large enough to put stuff in. Leave it out in the sun with the lid off for a couple days and the UV will "bleach" out the chlorine smell. With one bucket per person to start, you can put a small pillow, a sheet, a throw (the down-filled throws frequently seen at WalMart, Dollar Stores, Walgreens, etc. are great - we use them for camping all the time, and they pack small.), and a rolled-up sleeping bag. You may also be able to cram a small plastic tarp (or two) and a hank of rope (like parachute cord[1]) if you want, so you can improvise (or weatherproof) a shelter. Then, with the lid on, you could throw them into the back of a pick-up truck or open trailer and still have dry bedding.
Put toothbrushes, toothpaste, comb/brush, deoderant, etc., and a can-opener in each bucket. (You can't have too many can-openers. They're cheap. If you need one and have five, you're ok. If you need one and have none, you have a problem. Too many just means you have something to share/trade,)
If you toss a Bounce drier sheet in the bottom, it will keep the contents fresher - as in, not stuffy - and will discourage invasive critters almost as well as mothballs.
Either the smaller or the larger buckets would do to store socks, underwear, dry change of clothes, feminine products, toilet paper, baby wipes[2], diapers, and anything else that is best kept dry. Gallon sized, ZipLoc-type freezer bags[3] can help keep the contents sorted out, labeled, dated (batteries, power bars, etc.), and drier in case you have to dip in during wet conditions.
If you carefully spray[4] the rim of the bucket and the sealing gasket of the lid with food-grade silicon spray[5], then let it dry before screwing the lid on, it will preserve the sealing surfaces and make it open as easily years from now as it will today.
Of course, there are containers and systems for sale that can do the same at least as well, but I'm cheap; these are free if you can find them.
[1](Real parachute cord is much better, but the cheap stuff is OK too.)
[2](Baby wipes aren't just for baby bottoms. They are handy for hygiene under adverse conditions - to clean your hands to eat/prepare food when there's no way to wash; feminine concerns; anywhere you need to clean. It would be hard to imagine having "too many.")
[3](Freezer bags are often heavier and more durable than sandwich bags, and generally have a label to write on.)
[4]Carefully, and/or outside in the grass, as overspray can make your floor dangerously slick - and won't mop up!
[5]Food grade silicon spray doesn't have the solvent carriers that might adversely affect the rubber gasket in the lid, like some industrial type silicon sprays.
Medicines/First aid
You know what your medical needs are, but my suggestion is to take everything you have with you. Get another big bucket, throw everything in it, and screw the lid on; you can dig through later and find what you want when you need it - but only if you didn't leave it behind. If you take everything, it's harder to miss "that one thing." Later, when in relative safety, you can leisurely sort and discard whatever you want to.
Other than that, I strongly recommend having plenty of anti-diarrhea medicine. Bluntly put, if you are constipated for a couple days (not likely in an emergency!), big deal. One less thing (function) to demand immediate attention when you're already stressed. If you have diarrhea (not unlikely in such stress), your evacuation (bad pun unintended) or other efforts may be distracted, to say the least.
How to eat?
Another convenience that can be stored in sealed buckets: picnic supplies. No, I'm not trying to be funny. Paper bowls, paper hot drink cups, paper napkins, and disposable spoons. Paper bowls and cups, not plastic or foam. You may need to burn them, for disposal and/or firestarting, and if you've ever burned plastic or foam items in a camp/cooking fire, you'll understand. If not take my word for it.
Plastic dinnerware can be discarded - no sanitation concerns (trying to clean dirty utensils). Spoons are more versitile than forks. If it's in liquid or chunks, use a spoon; if it's too big for a plastic spoon, just pick it up and eat it. You shouldn't need plastic knives, either; if it needs to be cut, use a kitchen knife or bite off a piece. Forget table manners, and just eat.
You can put anything in a bowl that you can put in a plate, and the bowls don't usually try to flop your food over the back like an unsupported, limp ..paper plate. Small bowls will help reduce overly-generous (food-wasting) portions, give you more bowls in the available space, and there's no reason for a variety of sizes anyway. The less variety of stuff you have, the more stuff you can have. Just make more trips if you need to. Same thing with paper cups. You could also save the cups (mostly) and keep a water bottle as a canteen (re-filling it), using the cups only for drinks other than water (tea/coffee/juice/Gaterade, soups and broths, etc.), that would leave residue in the bottle.
Water!
I touched on that first. Now the rest.
Solar stills are a popular suggestion but they only work in sunlight ("Solar!"), and the amount of water they produce is rather less than stunning. If you're alone in the desert or if you're adrift at sea one could keep you alive, but as a resource for our discussion I think it would be of questionable utility.
Instructions on how to use chlorine bleach and/or iodine tablets to disinfect water are easy to find, so I won't bother with that. However, even though you may be able to safely drink disinfected pond water, it will likely taste like disinfected pond water if you don't clean it first. "Clean" is not the same (in this article) as "disinfected," it just means the tadpoles, leaves, and most of the silt are out of it and it looks like water. There are some excellent filters for survival, camping, etc.; one of the best is the Katadyne filter. However, if you don't have one, you can improvise. A piece of cloth (bandanna, T-shirt) will sift the debris out for you. It doesn't have to be clean, just preferably not filthy. A disposable paper coffee filter (Lots; the cheap ones) will remove most small particles from suspension. Repeat or double them if you need to. Bleach or iodine will disinfect the water (even if your T-shirt was dirty) and a simple, cheap Britta filter/pitcher from the grocery-store/WalMart will finish cleaning it. (The cloth and coffee filters are to extend the life of the Britta filter; keep it from clogging up so soon.) A couple extra Britta filters, maybe another pitcher, and something to store the water in, and you could produce quite a bit to keep your stocks up. Try a Britta filter/pitcher for each (your number here) of people. (How about adding a funnel to pour water back into the water bottles for storage? Use the funnel for the coffee-filter step, too.)
There are little packets of flavoring available, pre-measured for standard water bottles (12-oz or so), that make an instant drink (lemonade, tea, etc.) when added to water; even sugar-free and electrolyte drinks are now available. Being a powder in packets, they store well for a long time.
As a free bonus, UV will disinfect water through clear plastic, though not through glass, so your refilled bottles will keep fairly well if given sunlight. In your car, though, the car windows will filter the light; it must be direct sun.
What to Eat?
If you have reasonably dry clothes and bedding available, and you don't thirst to death, you'll probably get hungry sooner or later. If you have MRE's, a Survival Pantry(tm), or stocks of backpack foods, you probably don't need this article because you likely have time/money invested already. If you think the price of MRE's at REI is WTM[1], I agree. Foods that you already eat daily, and are already in your pantry, are not as fancy but easier for most of us to obtain since we already buy them. They'll probably be easier for you to "adjust" to, since you don't have to adjust. Just buy an extra case of "this" one time, "that" next time, and "whatever" after that. Cases can fit under the bed or stack in the 'dead' corner of the guest room closet quite well. If it's the foods you normally eat anyway (as it should be), just "shop" from under the bed, then replace each case once it's been opened - that will rotate your stock automatically. Don't worry about a great variety, or balancing meals; just have food. Take vitamin/mineral supplements if you're worried about it, but the important thing is to have food. Canned foods that don't need lots of water, but aren't mostly water weight, are usually best. Canned chile, beef stew, spaghetti-o's, - you know what you eat. For my carniverous family Spam, vienna sausages, beef stix, smoked summer sausages that don't need refrigeration (or at least, last for several days/weeks), sardines and smoked (canned) clams, canned ham. Pre-cooked bacon slices in plastic "envelope" type packaging that has a long shelf-life is available, and its good. We use lots of it when camping.
Don't forget to treat yourself, sometimes: canned fruit, or fruit cocktail, etc., can take the edge off a spartan meal of cold chile from the can, with disinfected water that tastes like a kiddie pool (remember the flavor packets? Potable is not necessarily palatable!)
[1]Way Too Much
Got Heat?
Heat for comfort and cooking is so easy and cheap to get at camping-supply places, I don't see any point in trying to "beat the system" here with fancy, improvised equipment stoves/heaters. There are plenty other sources of information if you want to try that. Same with lighting. I will, though, point out some things to help you decide what you want to use. Propane is fast, easy, doesn't spill, won't leak onto your other stuff (like liquid fuel can), you don't have to gather/chop/stack it (wood), it doesn't get black dust on you/your stuff (coal/charcoal), lights when you want it to (unlike wood/coal/charcoal) and goes out when you turn it off (also unlike wood/coal/charcoal), and burns clean (odorless/smokeless). If you use the 40lb. cylinders (standard BBQ-grill tanks), you can run a small catalytic heater for a few nights off a tank, or cook dozens of meals. You can also get an attachment that allows you to refill the small (1-qt?) cylinders, for your camp stove and portable lanterns. It's probably the most convenient and easiest to actually use.
On the other hand, liquid fuel (coleman fuel; gasloline) is a higher density fuel, and is in lighter containers. That means an ounce of Coleman fuel gives more heat and light, for longer, than an ounce of propane, but also the small (1-qt-size) propane cylinder is as heavy as three 1-gallon Coleman fuel cans. Another point that often gets overlooked: Since the lead has been removed from motor fuel (your car/motorcycle/lawn mower gas), it can now be used in Coleman-type appliances. It may be easier to syphon from your car or lawn mower for a few ounces of gas, than to try to find a propane refill in an emergency. This gas has additives that Coleman fuel doesn't, so if you use it extensively you may need to perform a little more cleaning maintenance, but it's worth it for the option.
My family has done a lot of camping, so we've accumulated some of both (gas & propane) types. We use them equally. Other than the points I've laid out, we really see no real difference in their performance. If, however, you live far north (far north!), it may get cold enough that propane won't boil[1], leaving you without fuel unless you can first heat the container (body heat? aargghhh). Gasoline, on the other hand, is not as easily affected by any temperature we humans could reasonably expect to survive in.
No matter what you choose to use for fuel, if you use lanterns, get a good supply of lantern mantles. Even if you're extra-gentle, and never break one, they will still fail. I've seen a hole blown in an otherwise perfectly good mantle by the "gust" of turning on the valve, trying to light it. (I've also had them arrive intact after 800 miles of bouncing around in a trailer to our destination. Go figure.) Getting the heavy duty mantles might help longevity some, but mantles are cheap enough there's no reason to risk it by not having several spares. Without the mantle, the lantern will - quite literally - burn itself up like a torch. But that's another story.......
[1]The liquid propane doesn't burn; the fumes - almost like steam - from "boiling" is what we actually burn. It is kept liquid by being kept compressed, stored in the pressure vessel that is its container. I don't remember at what temperature it boils, but it is below freezing (32f). However, the lower the ambient temperature the more reluctant it is to boil, and in cold climates it may even need to be heated to get it started, and have a set-up whereby some of the heat it produces returns to the container.
How to Evacuate?
I was talking to a co-worker the other day about related topics, and he assumed that, were he to evacuate the city, he and his wife (only - no kids) would take the (full-sized, 3/4-ton Diesel) pick-up truck. After we talked about things, he suddenly realized: "Three cases of water, a couple boxes/cases of food, about three or four buckets, a couple fire-arms with ammo for self-defense, campstove/lighting, and flashlights - we could just take the Honda (car)!" Not only will that be easier to drive, give better mileage (Cheaper overall if/when returning, cheaper/easier to manage if not. Plus, it can go another 30 miles on a gallon can of camp fuel in emergency!)
If he had a camper shell on the truck it might be different; as it is, everything he has would be open to the weather (no problem in sealed containers) and to other people (oops!).
Most people automatically assume that a HumVee or Supercharged MegaMonster is the way to go. That makes for good movies and ForumTalk, but think about what you really need.
What About Firearms?
Everybody knows that you need two (matching) primary handguns, a scoped long-slide magnum-caliber hunting pistol, a concealed pistol, a back-up pistol (8 to 10 mags and 1,500 rounds - for each handgun of course, not per caliber!), a riot shotgun (200 slugs, 550 double-aught buckshot, and 250 mixed #4-buck/#1-buck/bb shot loads) , a scoped sniper rifle, a battle rifle, a matching back-up battle rifle (10,000 rounds and 15-20 mags each rifle), a few .22 rimfire rifles (minimum 4 bricks for each[1]), a blowgun, a crossbow, and a tactical folding knife to survive so I won't add much to that. (matching weapons allows for repair parts, of course.)
Now that I've got that spoof[2] out of my system, I'll move on.
Firearms really do have a place - an important place - in disaster preparedness. If you can't protect and maintain what you have, why have it? You might even be better off without provisions if you can't hld them.
Why?
If someone(s) decides they want what you have, you've already gotten their attention. Not good. If they are inclined to take what they want, then your possessions are a magnet that may bring them to you. Depending on how ruthless these characters might be, it could be anything from a snatch-and-run to a beating-to-death and gang-rape. Unless you're Steven Segal or Bruce Lee, then your only choices are to stand your ground and argue (refer to the previous sentence), or run away and hope they choose to stay with your stuff and not chase you for sport. (If they chase you, they your stuff will still be there when they come back after they're through with you.)
Or, you could have defensive firearms. Of course, I was having fun earlier, but a handgun can make a 90-year-old in a walker suddenly the physical equal of a 24-year-old college football star in a confrontation. (There is an article, "Why The Gun Is Civilization" that expounds on this better than I can. It's on-line, but I don't know how hard it would be to locate.)
Ideally a handgun is the last thing you use before you pull your knife, but if you learn how to carry and use one it's very effective within its range, and it can always be there for you.
A shotgun is the devastating King of Close Combat.
There is a reason all the militaries in the world use a battle rifle - it works.
You don't have to have the latest Neutron-enhanced, 3-mile-range, heat-seeking, Shark-toothed, Belt-fed, Uranium-cored, Mach/6, Magnum Devastator Anti-Personnel "Social" tools to be effective. People managed to achieve the same degree of death from cap-and-ball single-action .36 caliber revolvers in the 19th century. Go figure. Just make sure it works, whatever it is. If you don't know what works, go with a military caliber and you can't go wrong.
The AK/SKS[3] or the AR/mini-14[4] are small, light, and easy to use (won't break your shoulder or your bank). Some of them are downright cheap, and tough/reliable/simple as a rock, and cheap surplus ammo is usually available too (especially the 7.62x39).
There are also some great 9mm carbines, many of which take common pistol magazines, as another option. A pistol-caliber carbine is easier to learn to shoot than a pistol, uses cheap pistol ammo, has all the recoil of a .22 rifle, and generally they are not expensive. They are low-powered and short-range (75-100yds) for a shoulder-fired weapon, but they generally glean more power from the ammo than a pistol of the same cartridge and are still effective.
In other words, whatever you have, or can get - use it. If you have all the above - use them! Just don't bother to take anything you don't have ammo for, because if your bluff is called - and if it is a bluff - you've just made them angry as well as mean.
If challenged or threatened, take every advantage for yourself and deprive the adversary of any - any - advantage that they may have, or try to attain. Don't let them in, on, or near your car or stuff. Remember, you aren't the aggressor, they are; you're just trying to leave - with your "stuff." So don't worry about being "polite" and "considerate;" one way or the other, you'll never see them again, anyway. You don't have to be rude, but you don't need to be social either. Just be assertive and authoritative, and stand your ground. Crime victims are mostly chosen, but often they also "volunteer" for the part. Don't volunteer.
[1]A "brick" of .22 is 10 boxes/50rounds per box; 500 rounds.
[2]No offense meant to anyone. It really is meant as a toungue-in-cheek slap at (us) all.
[3]SKS/AK series is a 7.62x39mm - this is a 30-caliber round that very closely matches the classic American .30/30 round ballistically (but is not interchangeable!).
[4]This is a high-velocity, .22-caliber round. It is the round used in the M16/AR15 weapons system, and is also popular as the Ruger Mini-14.
What About the Ladies?
This is something I've seen little-to-nothing written about, but it's very real. Women especially, but not only, need to consider this issue. Even "tough" women are still women, and need to feel like it. It takes surprisingly little to accomplish this. ("High-maintenance" models may vary in mileage, however!)
Several years ago I read an interesting article (I don't remember where) about the English and how they endured the stress of the Nazi Air Raids. There were a couple of things that really stood out for me. First was the obvious (to me, anyway) fact: pacify the women, and everyone fared better. (Facts aren't always politically correct or gender-neutral.) What did surprise me was how they accomplished that, under such grave conditions: the bomb shelters were supplied with lipstick! It didn't have to be "the good stuff." It didn't even have to be an appropriate shade. What they found was, when the women had something - anything - to help them feel "civilized" and "feminine," their whole disposition changed and they could better cope.
Years ago when I worked at a shipyard there were two older women that worked there,one a pipefitter and one a welder, as a team. They could - and did - equal any two men there for hard and/or dirty work. In fact, I worked around them for a couple weeks before I realized they were women. One hot day[1] they came out of a double bottom[2] for a water break, and when one pulled off her welding hood she wiped the sweat, grunge, and welding grit off her face - not to take a drink - but to put on the (melted, greasy-looking, beat-up-tube) lipstick she had in her pocket! Then, she got a drink and started laughing and talking! Her whole disposition seemed to change immediately. I understood what I saw because I remembered reading the article, but I was still surprised.
[1]Beaumont, Texas - "hot" is three digits, and humidity averages 90%+ at the water's edge - a shipyard, after all; you figure the heat stress index.
[2]Double-bottom, or double-hull, is close quarters - steel "floor" and "ceiling" often 3-4 feet apart at most, and almost totally enclosed except for vents - and all of it in the full sun, as the upper decks hadn't been installed yet. Most people can't work in that stifling, marginally ventilated heat for more than a few minutes at a time, but somehow they could handle it for an hour or more at a time, a few times a day, every day. These ladies were tough! But at the end of the day, they were still women.
This article is much longer and more ungainly than I had intended so I'll end it now, although I may add more later - but I'll just write it as another article (Part 2).
Stay safe.
Chuck Brick.
